In her characteristic tone--scathing, sometimes sexy, sometimes abrasive--Paglia writes on her usual repertoire of subjects.

In this history of smoking, a Wall Street Journal reporter chronicles America's obsession with cigarettes. She asserts that the tobacco industry--with its high profits and guaranteed mushrooming consumer population--triumphs over most other modern business models. Singling out the vast sums that cigarette companies spend on both marketing campaigns and on settling law suits, she highlights the ways in which the insidious industry strives to entice nonsmoking young people.

A mouse named Ricky Ricotta and his robot defend the Earth from horrible Voodoo Vultures from Venus. Color illustrations accompany the text.

Best known for the stunning His Dark Materials trilogy, Philip Pullman is also the author of this humorous tale of the wild countryside adventures of nutty, optimistic Lord Scarecrow and his servant, Jack, a seven-year-old boy--a story with a wonderful Land of Oz quality. With a giant turnip head and a straw-filled suit, Lord Scarecrow cuts quite a figure, whether he's fighting brigands, playing a prop on stage, freeing birds, or about to be marooned. In search of Spring Valley, a place he instinctively knows is home, Scarecrow and his orphaned assistant are pursued by the evil Buffaloni family, who are poisoning the land with their factories. But with the help of Granny Raven and the Grand Congress of Birds, they might be able to save the land, and themselves. Named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2005.